The second feature film by Andrzej Żuławski one of the most controversial Polish directors, hailed as iconoclast, provocateur and visionary.
Rejected by the censors, it waited for 16 years until its premiere in 1988.
Incredibly expressive and dynamic part of Wojciech Pszoniak in the title role of the Devil.
Taking part in the partition of Poland in 1793 the Prussian army enters Greater Poland.
A Stranger wanders into a monastery changed into a prison. He rescues Jakub, sentenced to death and orders him to return his home estate. Once there the Stranger gives him a razor, commanding him to eradicate the world of evil and debauchery. This razor becomes the main element wreaking havoc. Its blade will shine many times on the screen. Minute by minute madness engulfs the film. Falling deeper and deeper into madness the hero, lead by the Devil, spreads more and more destruction.
An unusual horror. A difficult and ambiguous film, addressing taboos through extreme expression. A take on a historical treatise, a vision of a decayed world, that crumbles under one blow of a foreign power, that can interpreted in many ways.
Excerpt from the movie
